


Acting, That’s All.

by snowhoe



Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Baz is so gay, Fluff, M/M, MEG IS SO HOT, The Author Regrets Everything, Yes she does, basically based on the movie, insidious humdrum - Freeform, malcolm is a bitch, no she doesn’t, okay so this is a Hercules fanfic, schemes, this author is also so gay, we don’t stan in this, yeah so expect references
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-03
Updated: 2020-02-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:33:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22541023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowhoe/pseuds/snowhoe
Summary: There was no way he was going to get Simon to fall for him. Baz knew he was going to disappoint his father and himself.Then there’s the other half of it. What if Simon did? Would his father's plan—whatever it was—work? Would Simon get killed before Baz could live? At least I could study the stars, he thought. Stupid, then you couldn’t study the stars. It was all too confusing.Someone was going to get hurt either way.
Relationships: Penelope Bunce & Simon Snow, Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Pitch/Simon Snow
Comments: 2
Kudos: 44





	Acting, That’s All.

**Author's Note:**

> sooooooo, I watched Hercules for the first time last night (though I suppose it’s the other night, now, considering it’s 2:37 AM) and it was amazing!!!!!!!!! I am in love with Meg, for one. And, watching the movie I got to thinking. “Hmm, Baz would totally sing some sappy song in fifth year about how he won’t say he’s in love with Simon.” so, now we’re here. a rendition of: Hercules, except its snowbaz and zeus is mentioned once but besides that there’s no other gods. I do mention Achilles once, though. IT IS IN THAT AGE OF TIME THO LIKE ANCIENT GREECE N SHIT BUT IT IS ALSO IN A TOWN CALLED WATFORD INSTEAD OF GREECE OR WHEREVE HERCULES WAS SET IDFK I DIDNT PAY TOO MUCH ATTENTION TO NON MEG SCENES,,, okay I hope you enjoy, it’s late n I’m on crack (sorry if there’s a mistake or two, that would be because I didn’t proof read)

It was days like these that Baz loathed. Days where Simon Snow, hero of all, fought some incessant monster, undoubtedly saving the population from yet another terror. 

To Baz, it felt like everyday that Simon was proving himself to the people. Not that everyone didn’t adore him. Because everyone did—including Baz, no matter how much he denied it. 

Simon, out there, swinging and swatting, punching and pounding, was a creature so unfathomable to Baz. With his mop of bronze curls sticking to his head; his average blue eyes shining as though they would never stop; and his smile after he defeated whatever it was he was fighting that day. Baz thought he was beautiful.

The only time he acknowledged his feeling was when he was alone. Pale with doubt and worry, the darkness let his mind wander. Every inch of Simon made Baz want to dive into an ocean of poison. He’d do, quite happily, anything for the boy. 

Which was why Baz wanted to kill him. 

He’s come close to killing him many times, too. Or, not him, but his father. 

Every single one of those monsters—from the giant bird with teeth on its wings to the worm that spat fire—Baz’s father unleashed. It was his master plan, after all, to destroy Simon Snow and everything he stood for. He wanted Simon dead, and if he found out how Baz felt, maybe he’d want him dead too.

Along with his many thoughts about Simon, Baz also had this thought: what would his mother think about all this? Would his mother happily help ruin an innocent boy? Baz doubted it, but he never really did know his mother, did he?

The version of his mother that Baz has in his head, though, wouldn’t idly stand by and do nothing. She’d put a stop to his father’s schemes.

So why couldn’t he?

_I’m weak,_ Baz said to himself, watching Simon hack away at a (newly) dead winged horse. It was ten times the size of Simon, yet Simon was ten times more likely to win. It wasn’t necessary his skill level, although he was good, it was more his passion to take the monsters out.

Baz knew Simon cares about the people of Watford. 

It being the most populated city that Baz knew of, Watford had tons of people. And tons of people means tons of worshippers.

The people saw Simon as a god, some divine being to be worshipped. Perhaps Baz thought that too.

Sitting on the steps with all of the other observers, Baz huffed. It was pointless to be so infatuated with someone so—so good. It was like the gods were punishing him on an uneven scale. Take a kid’s toy, be forever indebted to the most beautiful boy in all of the world. It wasn’t fair. 

Still, he wasn’t going to look away. When it came down to it, Baz was always going to be there, staring at Simon, no matter if it was a monster with the sword in the stomach or him. _I’m weak,_ Baz repeated.

Eventually, Simon laid the beast to rest. He was incredibly nice doing that, even. Baz swore, Simon couldn’t do anything with malicious intent. 

The people began to cheer, as one does after a monster is beat, and they begin to crowd around him. Baz saw no point in staying, so he turned to walk up the stairs to the long path that led to his house on the mountain. It was a hassle going all the way down there, but a hassle he would do over and over again if it meant seeing Simon.

Stopping for a second, Baz turned around. He wanted one last glimpse of Simon before he retreated to his very Simon-scarce house. As he did so, his eyes met the same sticky bronze curls that he forever loved. They matched his victorious smile and average eyes everyday of the week. Baz wanted to desperately push back the curls, no matter how gross they would be.

Instead of pushing curls back, he pushed that thought back. Baz wasn’t allowed to think like that. Never has, never will. And he had to accept that—on most days, even, he did. It was days like these, the days he loathed that Baz slipped up and let his mind wander.

Some part of him wished that he slipped on the stairs. Undoubtedly, Simon would catch him. His hero complex was forever there.

About to turn around, Baz’s eyes caught Simon’s, allowing an outpouring of feelings to surface. Baz ached. He longed. He _yearned._

Yearning for Simon Snow was like yearning for a fate worse than death, though. It _was_ a fate worse than death. 

One day, Simon would make Baz’s heart flutter so much it overexerted itself and stopped. That was the day Baz envied. 

Until then, all Baz had to do was pretend he didn’t want it to happen. So, he sent his best sneer Simon’s way and turned around. That’s all he could do. 

If Baz was really desperate, he would say that perhaps Simon’s smile faltered. He was desperate. He said that. (Only to himself, though.)

When he got back to his treacherous abode, Baz saw his father, fuming. Another mini-plot down the drain. “Can you believe him,” Malcolm yelled. He must’ve heard Baz come in. 

“No, I cannot.” It was the truth. Baz was always left baffled by Simon.

“He’s just so,” Baz’s father threw the scroll he was holding. If Baz guessed, there was a plan in the scroll. “aggravating.”

_Agreed._

“I don’t understand how he can beat every single thing I throw at him. It’s like he has no weak spots,” Malcolm continued. As if he’d been poked in the side, his eyes lit up. “That’s it! He doesn’t have a weak spot!”

Baz was lost. “And why are you happy about that?”

“You don’t understand, Basil. He doesn’t have one, so we must make him one.”

“How-”

“You do know what love is, right, son?” Unsure of where the conversation was leading, Baz simply nodded. He’d heard of it. He’d lived it. He was over it. (Over being in love, not who he was in love _with_ , of course.) “Then tell me, what is love?”

“A...feeling?”

“Yes! A feeling is absolutely right. A very powerful feeling. People will do anything for love,” Malcolm said, a bit too excited. He was thinking about how to rid the world of Simon, whereas Baz was thinking about his mom. Would Malcolm do anything for Natasha? Did he love her truly. Baz would never know. It wasn’t a topic to be discussed.

Tuning back in, Baz heard Malcolm say, “Do you think Simon has anyone he’d do anything for?”

“Hmm? Oh, I don’t think so. He’s too busy, you know, fulfilling his prophet of being a martyr.” 

Baz desperately hoped Simon wasn’t in love with anyone. 

“What about that Agatha girl? The little Wellbelove? I heard she and Simon had quite the relation.” 

Baz’s stomach twisted at the thought of that. Though, he asked Penny, Simon’s mentor, about it. She said that he didn’t have the time to be involved with anyone that wasn’t a six legged toad. Or any dangerous creature for that matter. “No, there’s no relation.”

“Perfect.”

Malcolm sat down and kicked his feet up. The look he gave Baz was rather expectant, and Baz wasn’t very fond of it. He hated his father’s face, which meant he hated his own. Everything about them was alike. Except for the dimples and grey eyes he got from his mother. 

Baz forwent any thought of his mother and said, “What?”

Malcolm gave him a wicked smile. “You know what you have to do now, don’t you?”

“I don’t,” Baz replied.

Smile dropping, Malcolm sighed and stood up. He walked towards Baz with intent, picked him up by the shoulders, and looked him dead in the eye. “Give that boy something to lose.”

“But,” Baz must’ve been delirious. Did he hear that correctly? “but, father, we’re two boys.”

“So? Boys have sexual relations with each other all the time. Ever heard to Achilles? One of the greatest warriors of the Trojan War did some odd things in that tent of his. Though, that’s only rumored.”

Baz has heard about Achillies. Envied his relationship with Patroclus, if he was being truthful. Even if no one acknowledged it. (Besides his father. What was up with that?)

“And you’re...okay with it? Two boys, I mean?”

“Of course not. It’s okay to get your sexual frustrations out with another man, sure, but you should be with a woman. Keep it all in your boyhood, Basilton. That’s why it’s the perfect time to act.”

Baz’s heart sank. He knew he’d never be happy with a woman, and he definitely didn’t want to “leave it in his boyhood.”

“Don’t worry, my dear son, once that dreaded Simon Snow is taken out, you can forget everything and find a lovely wife.”

Oh, yes, exactly what he wanted. A lovely wife.

Once he regained his voice, Baz said, “Why should I do it?”

Baz has so many other questions. For example, when, what, where, how, but he decided to ask _why._

Malcolm rolled his eyes with a smirk. “You are my son. Always wanting something. Well, let’s say,” he said, walking towards the stone table and picking up a coin, proceeding to toss it to Baz. “if you pull this off and The Mage, as well as Simon, is defeated, then I’ll stay out of your life. I know how much you hate it when I set you up with women. I won’t do that anymore.”

“Can I study whatever?”

“Whatever,” Malcolm agreed.

Malcolm just promised Baz the thing he wanted the (second) most: freedom. (The first being Simon.) (Although, in a way, Malcolm also promised him that. Just with a twisted ending.) 

Baz wanted to learn the stars, which Malcom always protested. 

_Astronomer has a nice ring,_ Baz thought. 

“Okay.”

“I knew you wouldn’t disappoint, Basilton.” 

_You have no idea._

With that, Malcolm waltzed out of the room. 

* * *

Later that night, Baz mapped the stars in his head. He laid down in the grass, picking apart constellations, trying to distract himself. Usually it worked, tonight it didn’t. 

He had too much on his mind. The stars in the sky kept going back to the stars on Simon’s face. It was driving him crazy.

There was no way he was going to get Simon to fall for him. Baz knew he was going to disappoint his father and himself. 

Then there’s the other half of it. What if Simon did? Would his father's plan—whatever it was—work? Would Simon get killed before Baz could live? _At least I could study the stars,_ he thought. _Stupid, then you couldn’t study_ the _stars._ It was all too confusing. 

Someone was going to get hurt either way.

As if one que, Baz heard a noise. It sounded like horse hooves of cobblestone. Baz stood up to see what was going on. 

Peering over the edge of the mountain, he saw Simon going...somewhere. Why was he awake? The only people who were up at this hour were lunatics.

For some reason, Baz found that this could be the perfect opportunity to get Simon to fall in love with him. So, he went down the mountain and followed suit of Simon. 

Once Simon slowed down, Baz finally caught up to him and his behind a tree. They were close to the outskirts of Watford, and Baz was wondering why. There was that question again. Why. 

Everything had a purpose, now what was the purpose of being there. They were in a clearing it seemed, although Simon was blocking Baz’s view of it all. Well, he was blocking the view of the clearing. Baz would argue that Simon was a whole view himself, but now wasn’t the time. He was stalking.

Simon swung his leg over the horse and got off. He continued to lead the horse over to...to a fountain. That must’ve been what Simon was blocking. 

As the horse drank, Simon just sat there. He looked down into his hands and had a look on his face that Baz had never seen before. He looked sad, haunted.

Determined to make that face go away, Baz left his hiding spot behind the tree. Simon looked up, mouth slack. “Baz?”

“Snow.”

“What- what are you doing here? Did you follow me?”

_Yes._ “No. I was taking a walk.”

“Yeah, okay,” Simon said with a huff. Baz went to sit down next to him. 

If Baz’s father wanted him to get Simon to fall in love with him, Baz would sure as hell try. At least he had a reason to put his heart on the line. Even if it would end with it pierced. 

Maybe he could have a little fun with Simon before the inevitable. The inevitable being someone dying. 

Or maybe Simon would upright reject him.

Getting agitated, Simon said, “Why are you really here, Baz?”

“Simon.” Baz said, shutting Simon up. “I’m,” he swallowed, “I’m sorry I’m so mean to you.”

It seemed as if Simon got snapped back to consciousness with that. His eyes were wide and mouth was agape. Baz felt how he looked. 

“What’re you talking about? You never apologize.” 

Baz sighed. “I have something to confess.”

Looking apprehensive, Simon said, “Okay…”

“I want you to know,” _deep breath, Basilton. You’re acting. Acting, that’s all._ “I have feelings for you.”

Baz wanted to over exaggerate and say that Simon practically jumped off the ledge of the fountain, but he _actually_ did jump off the ledge of the fountain. It was like he’d been stung, burned, hit. 

“You _what_?” Baz couldn’t meet Simon’s eyes anymore.

He definitely wasn’t acting.

“I like you.”

Simon looked pained. Was it that nauseating to think that Baz liked him? “Why? I thought you hated me?”

Another sigh from Baz. “I thought I hated you too. At least, I used to. You were always so brave, defeating everything in your path. Ever the hero, you are. I thought I was jealous of how brilliant you are, but, turns out, I just wanted to be with you.”

He looked as though he wanted more. So Baz gave him more.

“Everytime I see you, my heart quickens. I just want to be near you. I can’t really explain it. You just make me happy. When I see you laugh, when I see you fighting, when I see you riding your horse to some fountain in a forest.”

“So you were following me?”

Baz rolled his eyes. “Calm your ego, Snow.”

“I don’t know if I can ever calm my ego after...that,” Simon admitted. He sat back down next to Baz. “Do you really, uh, think that?”

_Yes._ “Yes.”

Smiling ear to ear, Simon grabbed Baz’s hand. Baz felt the blush creeping up onto his face with every passing second. He desperately wanted to escape and stay put at the same time. Was death by drowning or dehydration better? No one knew.

With his other hand, Simon cupped Baz’s cheek and turned it towards him. He was still smiling as he leaned into Baz. 

Just mere inches from Simon, Baz startled away. It wasn’t Simon that made him push away, though, it was a booming Penelope Bunce screaming, “There you are! I’ve been looking for- why are you with Basilton?”

“Penny, I-”

“No, Simon,” she grabbed him, “you’re coming back with me. You have no clue how many push-ups you’re doing tonight. Help me, Zeus, what ever am I going to do with this boy?”

Penny took Simon and the horse away from Baz as fast as she could. 

Both Simon and Baz were in a haze. As he was being pulled from the other boy, Simon looked back with wonder. _I put that there,_ was all Baz thought. 

After he couldn’t see them anymore, Baz sighed. Did that just happen? Was he about to kiss Simon Snow? Was Simon Snow about to kiss him? 

He was feeling too much and not enough. “Get a grip, Basilton,” he said to himself. “He’s not worth getting hurt over.”

Some voice inside him said, _Come on, he’s the Earth and Heaven to you._

“No, I won’t say it. At least out loud, I won’t say I’m in love.”

That same voice was rolling its eyes no doubt.

On the walk back to his bed, Baz contemplated everything that happened. 

* * *

When he awoke that morning, Baz felt off. 

Rightfully so, considering when he opened his eyes, he was tied up. His eyes flickered everywhere—the cave walls, the dragon underneath him, Simon. _Dragon?!_

Baz quickly realized that the reason he woke up was because Simon had been whisper-yelling his name. When his eyes landed on him, Simon brought his finger over his mouth. 

Baz understood why. The, currently, sleeping dragon and the fact that Baz was dangling, head over heels, over it. 

Again, he had so many questions. Except these ones he could answer himself. His father. 

Last night, before he went to bed, Baz was ambushed by his father. He sucked the happiness right out of Baz’s neck. Saying, “Where were you off to?”

Wanting to please his father, Baz went with the truth. “I saw Simon. I think I hooked him.”

“Fantastic,” his father replied.

Baz got curious. He only knew part of the plan, after all. The least his father could do for setting him up for heartache is que him in. “What are you planning, anyways?”

“To keep it simple, I found a monster that’s going to need a sacrifice to end its life,” he smiled wickedly. “No matter how much he will try to kill it, the only weapon he can use is himself.”

Baz was scared out of his mind for what was to come. He assumed that maybe him and Simon could run away. Maybe they had time for that.

Baz found out they did not, in fact, have time to run away as he was dangling above a _literal_ dragon. The last words his father said to him rang in Baz’s head. _The Insidious Humdrum._

Knots formed in his stomach as he looked at Simon. Baz swore to himself, no matter happened, it would be him who died instead of Simon. It just had to be.

Looking down at the dragon, Baz had no clue what to do. Usually he was good with plans, but now? Not so much. 

His eyes bore a question into Simon’s, to which Simon shrugged back. Great, so he was stuck above a deadly dragon. 

Then, as if on time, Penelope Bunce flew in. Flew. As in, on a horse with wings kind of flew. It was the same horse Baz had seen last night, except now it had wings. 

Baz thought he shouldn’t be this surprised since he’s above a dragon. He still was, though. 

She got off the horse—pegasus?—and Simon got on. The two were a match. Dazzling pegasus, dazzling ridder. Baz couldn't stop staring. 

Simon flew up to Baz, extremely graceful. Or perhaps he was just being careful so gracefulness was just a side effect. Either way, Baz was in awe.

When he got to Baz, Simon hooked an arm around his waist and pulled Baz to sit in front of him. Then he let go of Baz, put the rope between his teeth, and yanked. Baz had no clue how that rope held him up if Simon could just bite it in half. He didn’t dwell on it, however, since he heard a rumble.

Both of them looked down to see that the dragon woke up, then both their eyes snapped up to look at each other. 

“I see you’ve found my little pet.”

Baz’s eyes snapped to the entryway behind Penny. It was his father. Somehow, with a flick of his wrist, he commanded the Humdrum to still. 

Still hovering, Simon put a protective arm around Baz’s waist. Baz relished in the feeling because he knew once he found out his father’s plan, all contact would be cut. Simon could never forgive him.

“This, my dear friend, is The Insidious Humdrum. Oh, and, you know, Chosen One, that boy that you’re protecting, he’s not what you think he is.”

The arm tightened and so did Baz’s eyes. He wanted to escape—just escape, this time. 

“He’s been working with me. To get you in this very spot, actually.”

Hearing that, Simon jerked his arm away from Baz. “What?” he snapped.

“Simon, please, don’t listen-” he tried to say, but Simon had already brought the pegasus down to the ground and pulled Baz off.

He marched over to Baz’s father. “What are you talking about? I demand to know.”

“You demand to know? If you must, I’ll tell you,” Malcolm said with a sharp smile. “The Humdrum here is a difficult monster to defeat. It will need a sacrifice to subdue itself.”

“What do you mean, a ‘sacrifice?’” 

“I mean, you have to give something up. Per se, a life.”

“No…”

“Yes.” Malcolm was practically grinning. His plan was falling right into place and he knew it. 

All Baz could do was watch as Simon marched over to him. “You! You tricked me! I can’t believe you. Of course what you said was fake!”

Baz whispered, only so Simon could hear, “I wasn’t faking.”

As Simon punches his chest, Baz let the floodgates open. Simon screamed over and over again, “I don’t believe you.”

Penny stood by, watching them. So did Malcolm. That is, until he flicked his wrist again, unpausing the dragon.

Simon sprang up, whipping out his sword. It was no good, even he knew that. 

Baz watched as Simon darted all around the dragon, slicing it with his sword. Never deep enough to do anything, though. Baz figured this was Simon’s ridiculous way of stalling. However, Baz was incredibly grateful he was stalling. It gave him time to part with whatever dreams he had of being an astronomer.

Simon was running out of time. He started to slow and the slicing wasn’t enough to fend the dragon off. The dragon backed him into a corner. 

Baz looked at Penny—she was crying. They were extremely close, which guilted Baz even more. He put her in this position, he put Simon in this position, so it was time to get him out. 

Turning his gaze back to Simon, Baz saw that he had curled into himself. He’d given up, Baz saw. 

_This isn’t happening,_ Baz said and darted to Simon.

He felt Penny and his father’s eyes on him. He ignored them. The only thing he cared about was Simon.

Baz ducked under the dragon’s neck and peeled Simon’s hands from his face. Simon looked so hurt and confused. Mostly, though, he was stunned. _Why,_ Baz knew he must be wondering. To answer his question, Baz placed a chaste kiss on his forehead and hoisted him up by the biceps. Throwing Simon out of the corner, Baz took his spot.

When Baz looked to Simon, the other boy had a look of pure shock on his face. He sat on the ground where Baz threw him, watching, his eyes never leaving Baz, as the dragon swallowed him whole. 

Everything was dark. And slimey. And smelly. If Baz knew what to expect from the inside of a dragon, it would be this. 

Baz assumed he was going down a throat, he kicked and thrashed, but that wasn’t going to do anything. It was only gonna be so long until he got to the stomach. 

It was a miracle that he was still alive. Baz thought that he was going to be chewed, instead he just got sent down this minute tunnel. He was glad he didn’t get chewed, that’d probably hurt so much more.

Baz let himself think of the only thing that made him happy: blue eyes, bronze curls. Simon Snow was alive and was going to be alive a lot longer. The knowledge of that let Baz die, at least somewhat, peacefully.

Except, Baz didn’t die. He just felt whatever part of the dragon he was in disappear. It just...dissolved. 

Next thing he knew, instead of falling into the pit of a stomach covered in slime, he was falling onto the rocky cave floor covered in slime. 

_Am I dead?_ Baz thought. But he couldn’t have been, this felt all too real. He looked to his hands, they were shaking. He was in relatively the same spot he was in when the dragon ate him, so what happened? 

Before he could ponder that any further, Baz felt a body crash into him. 

It was Simon. 

He was sobbing and every part of him was shaking. Baz laughed at that. Simon wasn’t the one _eaten by a dragon,_ why was he so distraught? Over Baz? Yeah, right.

Baz shook that thought out of his head and hugged Simon back. He held on for dear life. Both of them did, really. “I- I thought I lost you,” Simon choked out. 

“You can never get rid of me, love.”

Simon placed his hands on Baz’s shoulders and pushed back to look him in the eyes. “Why did you do that?” he asked, more softly that Baz thought it was going to be. 

“You do crazy things when you’re in love,” Baz replied.

His eyes lit up. “Oh.”

Just as Simon was about to press his lips to Baz, Malcolm came up behind them. “I’d hate to break up this love fest,” he spat at them, “but Baz and I need to have a talk.”

“I don’t have anything to say to you,” Baz said with Simon half in his lap.

“Oh, I think you-”

“Just shut up, already, would you?” Penny said, grabbing Malcolm’s arms and twisting them behind his back. 

He struggled as Simon and Baz stood up, but Penny wouldn’t budge. There was a reason that she was so good at teaching combat. 

“Come on, Si, lets take him to The Mage.”

Baz always wondered why he was called The Mage. He wasn’t particularly magical—just a bastard with power. Baz once heard a rumor that they called him that because he helped create Simon, Protector of Watford, and was a bit too proud of it. 

Perhaps his sperm was magical.

Not wanting to think of The Mage’s sperm, Baz looked to Simon. It was his father, they were discussing the fate of, after all. Malcolm was plotting their demise, but he was also a man. 

Baz hated himself for thinking that. His father was cruel, not anything else. 

Simon and Penny were having a stare down. That is, until Simon broke the silence. “You know I don’t trust my father.”

“So what should we do with this scum,” Penny said, but it looked like she immediately regretted it when she looked to Baz. Well, regretted saying it in front of him, not actually saying it. Baz wasn’t upset, though. There was truth in the statement.

“He has a family.”

“He tried to kill you, Si.”

They went back and forth, comparing the facts. (Some opinions, too.) (“He deserves to rot,” Penny said. For all Baz knew, it was a fact.)

Nonetheless, through all the bickering, Baz spoke up. “We have a dungeon. At the bottom of the mountain. It’s probably where my father hid the...the Humdrum. If you wanted, we could put him in there.”

Simon and Penny looked at each other. Having a nonverbal conversation, Baz knew. It was fine that they were keeping him out of it. Especially since it was him they were talking about. 

“Okay, yeah. We can do that,” Penny said after what felt like ages of restless silence. She gave Simon a _be careful_ kinda look and said, “I’m gonna give you two a minute alone. I’ll just be waiting at the entrance of the cave.”

If Baz was being totally honest, he forgot they were in a cave. He forgot he was in a dragon not ten minutes ago, too. 

They watched as Penny carried his father out of the cave. When she was finally out of sight (and they didn’t hear Malcolm complaining anymore), Simon turned to Baz.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes. No. Maybe?”

Simon let out a breathy laugh. “Which one is it?”

“I think I will be alright. After I get cleaned up, though.”

“Good,” Simon said with a smile. He too a step closer to Baz.

“There’s one thing I need to know first,” Baz said. Simon gave him a little nod that told him to continue. “Why did you do that? I mean, with my dad.”

His tiny smile went back to the ear to ear one Baz saw last night near the water fountain. “You do crazy things when you’re in love.”

Simon reached for Baz’s hand and finally, _finally_ closed the distance between the two. 

Baz was on fire. The kiss started out slow, soft. It was a _happily ever after_ type kiss. 

But Baz wanted more than a happily ever after. 

When they pulled apart, Baz dove right back in and pushed their lips together once more. The little whimper that came out of Simon made him melt, but the thought of that quickly went away when he felt Simon’s tongue on his lip. Baz opened his mouth, a bit too quickly, and let Simon explore.

After awhile of kissing they sank onto the floor. Now, Simon was hovering over Baz, kissing him senseless. 

He pulled back, though, and Baz felt pained by the loss of lips. Simon put his forehead on Baz’s and whispered, “You reek.”

Gasping, Baz pushed Simon off of him. “Wow, that’s the first thing you say to me?”

They were both chuckling. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it’s just- you do, kinda, well…”

“Reek?”

“Yeah.”

“I saved your life. Would you rather it be you in the dragon?”

Simon must’ve forgotten because he looked as if it had just happened. “Thank you, by the way.”

“You know I’d do anything for you,” Baz smiled, leaning on one elbow to mirror the other boy. “Simon.” 

“What ever did happen to that thing, though? I’m still confused as to why it just went _poof.”_

Baz thought about it. He’d wondered the same thing awhile ago. “I don’t know, maybe it’s because I sacrificed myself for you? I’d rather not think about it. I kinda just want to kiss you, to tell the truth.”

Shaking his head and laughing, Simon said, “Oh no, you need to clean yourself off first.”

“One more kiss,” Baz begged. Though, Baz didn’t really care if he got a kiss now, he’d get more in the future. He would have to. 

There was no denying them—whatever they were—now. Baz was allowed to love Simon (as much as he could, at least) and he was never going to stop. It was like someone struck a match and lit them on fire. 

There was no putting out this forest fire.

“Fine, one more kiss,” Simon said, leaning forward and slotting their lips together. 

_Perfect match_ , Baz thought.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liek it <3


End file.
